Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP) Short Interest Down 18.1% in October

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 816,100 shares, a drop of 18.1% from the September 30th total of 996,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UGP has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Ultrapar Participações from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com raised Ultrapar Participações from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Ultrapar Participações from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Ultrapar Participações from $5.90 to $5.20 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ultrapar Participações by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,764,084 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $14,713,000 after buying an additional 293,036 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Ultrapar Participações by 57.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,450,300 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,581,000 after acquiring an additional 898,600 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ultrapar Participações in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,887,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 332.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,946 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099,433 shares during the period. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Ultrapar Participações by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 441,527 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 94,761 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.58% of the company's stock.

Ultrapar Participações Stock Performance

NYSE UGP traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $3.68. 1,880,294 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,325,770. Ultrapar Participações has a fifty-two week low of $3.51 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.08, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Ultrapar Participações (NYSE:UGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. Ultrapar Participações had a return on equity of 20.24% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ultrapar Participações will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultrapar Participações Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.0446 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Ultrapar Participações's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.38%.

Ultrapar Participações Company Profile

Ultrapar Participações SA, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy and infrastructure business in Brazil. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers, in addition to renewable electricity and compressed natural gas. It also operates in the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; and holds AmPm convenience stores and provides JetOil lubricant services.